French comedian Dieudonne probed for Paris attack quip

12th January 2015, 0 comments

French prosecutors said Monday they were investigating notorious comedian Dieudonne for "inciting terrorism" with his Facebook comment that could be interpreted as sympathising with one of last week's attackers in Paris.

"Tonight, as far as I'm concerned, I feel like Charlie Coulibaly", the comedian wrote, playing the expression "Je suis Charlie" ("I am Charlie") off a reference to Friday's kosher supermarket attacker Amedy Coulibaly.

"Je suis Charlie" was adopted as the rallying cry following shootings at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which 12 people died.

Coulibaly killed four hostages in the kosher supermarket seige, after murdering a police officer Thursday.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve described Dieudonne's remark as "contemptible" as he visited the heart of Paris' Jewish community on Monday.

The comedian made international headlines in 2013 when French footballer Nicolas Anelka was banned for five matches by English football authorities for using a hand-gesture created by Dieudonne that many people consider anti-Semitic.

The comedian made his controversial Facebook post after attending Sunday's unity march against extremism that brought more than 1.5 million people on to the streets of Paris in the wake of the attacks.

Dieudonne described the march -- considered the biggest rally in modern French history -- as "a magical moment comparable to the big-bang".

The government has in the past banned Dieudonne's shows because it considers them "anti-Semitic".

In response to the interior minister's comment, the comedian said the government was trying to "ruin my life" when "I am only trying to make people laugh".